Don't Want To Leave This Play Date With You
by articcat621
Summary: Draco didn't expect to spend the afternoon babysitting. However, it comes to be quite an enlightening experience for him.


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling and associates. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Notes:** Many thanks to my beta gaeilgerua for looking this over. This is a no-Voldemort AU. I hope everyone enjoys this pure bit of fluff. xoxo

* * *

**_Don't Want To Leave This Play Date With You_**

"You have got to be kidding me," Draco murmured, looking at the sight before him in disbelief. When he had heard a loud bang in the Head Boy and Girl's common room, he had rushed down to make sure Hermione was all right. He expected to see that she had fallen out of her chair, or that she was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Potter or the Weasel.

What he did not expect to see was a little, curly-haired toddler peering up at him with watery eyes.

"Dwaco?" the small girl whimpered, reaching her hands up at him.

"Christ, Hermione, what happened to you?" he asked, still not quite sure that he was seeing what he was really seeing. "Is that even really you?"

When the little girl nodded, Draco let out a defeated sigh. "What in Merlin's name happened?" He couldn't think of anything that she could have been possibly doing that would turn her into a little girl.

"Cookies," Hermione said, pointing to her desk.

Draco looked and saw there was indeed a pack of cookies on the counter. He picked up the tin, careful not to touch the cookies themselves. There was a note attached.

_Hermione, I hope you enjoy_.

No name, no signature. They must have been an anonymous gift. "Come on; we need to go see the Headmaster."

She looked at him, her little arms reaching upwards once more. Her lower lip wobbled, and Draco frowned.

"Do not cry on me right now, Granger," he huffed. Knowing he wouldn't be able to deal with a crying Hermione, he picked the little girl up and placed her on his hip. She was surprisingly light. Draco grabbed the cookies, putting the cover on the tin. Carrying both, he headed towards the Headmaster's Office.

* * *

"Tell me what happened again, Mister Malfoy," Headmaster Dumbledore said, looking at him with a frown.

Draco frowned. "I heard a loud bang and when I went downstairs I saw that Hermione wasn't there, instead, there was a little girl. She called me Draco, so she knows who I am. It's definitely Hermione. I think someone gave her these cookies, and they were laced with a potion or something that would change her in a toddler."

"Who would do such a thing?" Professor McGonagall pressed. "Hermione is well-liked by many of her peers and professors."

Draco shook his head. "I don't know who would do it." He looked at Hermione, who was currently cuddled up in his lap, nodding off to sleep. "She hasn't told me anyone's been mean to her or giving her problems." Draco's frown deepened. He and Hermione had grown quite close during their time together as Head Boy and Girl. If someone had been harassing her, she would have told him, he was sure of it.

"I will have Professor Snape look at the cookies," Headmaster Dumbledore began. "He should be able to find an antidote to Miss Granger's condition. Until then, Mister Malfoy, you are excused from classes in order to watch over Miss Granger."

Draco frowned momentarily before nodding. An image of Potter and Weasley trying to care for a young Hermione was all he needed before deciding he would be the one to watch over Hermione. He'd be able to keep her out of trouble. "Is that all, sir?"

"It is," Headmaster Dumbledore said. "You may Floo to your room, so no one sees what happened to Miss Granger. I would like the situation to be kept private."

"Understood," Draco replied. He stood, careful not to wake Hermione in his arms. "Hopefully she'll sleep for quite some time."

Professor McGonagall smiled. "We can only hope, Mister Malfoy. Please, contact me if you need any help."

* * *

Draco looked down at Hermione's sleeping form. He couldn't help but smile as she muttered something in her sleep, turning over. _She looks rather adorable right now_…

His eyes widened in surprise. _I think she's cute? Well, of course, she's cute, she's a child. I don't think she's cute as an adult_. Of course, as soon as Draco thought it, he realised that it was a lie. He did think Hermione was cute. Actually, it might be even more than that. Attractive? Lovely?

He sighed quietly, shaking his head. The closer they grew to the end of the term, the more difficult it was becoming for Draco to hide his feelings for Hermione.

Knowing that he should leave her to sleep, Draco stood, quietly backing away from Hermione's bed. He nearly made it to the door when there was a groan. Silently cursing, Draco turned, holding his breath.

"Mummy?" Hermione murmured sleepily. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the room. "Dwaco?"

Draco was unable to hold back his groan. He did not know what to do with a toddler.

"Dwaco, I'm hungry." The little girl climbed out of her bed, running into Draco full forced.

He caught her, patting her on the head awkwardly. "I'll order us some food. What would you like?"

"Chicken nuggets!" Hermione cheered, taking off towards their common room.

"What in Merlin's name are chicken nuggets?" Draco wondered aloud.

* * *

Chicken nuggets, Draco soon realised, were tiny pieces of breaded chicken. Apparently, Muggle children really enjoyed the nuggets and the school's house-elves were able to fulfil the request.

Personally, he thought they tasted like cardboard, but Hermione seemed perfectly happy chomping away on her nuggets and drinking some pumpkin juice.

"What will we do next, Dwaco?" she asked, smiling up at him.

Whenever that little face smiled at him, Draco found he was unable to resist smiling back at her. "Want to take a nap?"

Hermione furiously shook her head, curls bouncing about. She put her face in her hands, looking like a perfect, little angel. "Magic?"

"Magic?"

"Yes!" Hermione squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. "Show me magic, Draco!"

Draco laughed. "All right, but first, you need to finish your chicken nuggets and juice."

"Okay," Hermione said with an enthusiastic nod. She began to devour her little chicken nuggets.

He watched her eat, his heart warming. While he had never given much thought to children in the far off future, his time with Hermione made him realise that he did want children. A part of him wondered if Hermione wanted children too…

Draco shook his head, pushing such thoughts from his mind. He hoped that Snape would be able to find an antidote for Hermione quickly. He knew that she would be furious that she was missing so much time that could have been used for revision.

"Okay, Dwaco, I'm done!" Hermione announced excitedly.

"Let's get started then, shall we?" Draco winked at her.

* * *

When Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore stepped through the Floo into the Head's common room, they did not expect to see Draco enchanting various objects in the room to sing children's songs.

"Mister Malfoy, Miss Granger," Headmaster Dumbledore said, coughing slightly. He smiled warmly at the pair. "I see you've been having some fun."

"Oh, yes!" Hermione said, clapping her hands. "Dwaco's done all sorts of magic tricks!"

Draco waved his wand, ending the current spell and charming the objects to all return to their original place. "Did you find an antidote?"

"I did," Professor Snape said, holding up a small vial. "The cookies were indeed laced with an age-reducing potion. Miss Granger, if you would drink this, please?"

"No!" Hermione said, running towards Draco and crawling into his lap. "No, Dwaco!"

Draco looked down at her. "Hermione," he said gently, giving her a warm smile when she looked at him. "Drink that for me, please, and then we can do more magic."

"Promise?" Hermione whispered, looking at him with large, trusting eyes.

"Promise," Draco swore. He took the vial from Snape and helped Hermione tilt the contents into her mouth. She coughed, sputtering for a moment before swallowing.

"Ewww!" she cried.

Moments later, there was a flash of blue smoke and an adult Hermione was sitting in Draco's lap. Her eyes widened in shock as she scrambled to stand. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, standing up and smoothing her skirt.

Draco laughed. "No worries, Hermione."

Hermione took a moment to collect herself before looking around the room. "Thank you all so much for helping me return to my normal self."

Professor Snape rolled his eyes. "Of course, Miss Granger. We couldn't just let you stay a toddler. How would we have explained that your parents or the Board of Governors?"

"Yeah, it was no problem," Draco assured her. "Anything for me to get out of studying."

Hermione opened her mouth, about to scold Draco for procrastinating yet again when Headmaster Dumbledore cut her off.

"Miss Granger, do you know who gave you the cookies?"

Draco watched her nibble her lower lip, a tell-tale sign that she was frustrated.

"No," Hermione responded. "They came from me in the mail. I've been so stressed from studying, that I didn't think twice about checking whether they were safe or not." She looked ashamed, her face turning pink. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologise, Miss Granger," Headmaster Dumbledore assured her. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"Thank you," Hermione replied, still looking embarrassed.

"It's almost time for dinner; why don't you two head on down?" Headmaster Dumbledore suggested before heading to the Floo. Professor Snape followed him out.

* * *

"Draco, thank you again," Hermione said shyly.

He grinned, puffing up his chest slightly. Try as he might, he couldn't get his earlier thoughts from his mind. The way Hermione was looking at him, blushing, had his heart racing. She _did_ look adorable, even now.

The two of them entered the Great Hall. Draco bade good-bye to Hermione, taking a seat at the Slytherin table with his friends.

"Draco, mate, how are you feeling?" Crabbe asked.

"Fine," Draco replied, "I had a migraine earlier, and Madame Pomfrey wouldn't give me a potion."

"You didn't miss much," Blaise told him between bites of food.

"I missed you, Draco," Pansy purred, smiling at him from across the table. "It must have been awful to be cooped up with Granger all day."

"It—" Draco paused. How would Pansy have known that Hermione was sick too? It had been after lunch when Hermione was changed, and not a single soul had seen them in the halls since it had been halfway through a lesson block. _Maybe…. No_, he thought suddenly, _Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't have joint classes at all today_.

"How did you know Hermione was sick?" Draco questioned.

At his question, Crabbe, Blaise, and a few others looked at Pansy questioningly.

"We didn't see any Gryffindors at all today," Blaise said, arching a brow at her. "Are you keeping tabs on Granger?"

"Of course not!" Pansy hissed, but it was clear to Draco that she knew she had slipped up.

"It was you," Draco said stated matter-of-factly.

"You can't prove it," Pansy said, jutting her chin in the air.

"No, but Snape will," Draco replied. "Using potions on other students is strictly forbidden, Pansy. I hope you realise they might expel you."

"What? Of course they can't!" Pansy protested, standing. She quickly exited the Great Hall, leaving Draco to sigh.

He'd have to tell the Headmaster and Professor Snape after dinner.

* * *

"So, it was Pansy?" Hermione questioned that night in their common room. The two of them were sitting rather closely on the sofa. She had found out from Draco that Pansy was the culprit, and that she had been suspended for the next month, giving her only one week afterwards to study for her N.E.W.T.s. with the use of Hogwart's instructional materials.

"Yes, turns out she was jealous that I was spending so much time with you," Draco explained. "She thought that you wouldn't be as much competition if you were stuck as a little girl." He shook his head. "It was obviously a poorly thought-out plan."

"Well, I for one am glad she didn't think it through!" Hermione said, laughing slightly. She stopped suddenly, looking at him. Her cheeks were red once more that day. "Why would she be jealous?"

Draco looked at Hermione, reminding himself that he should be a little brave and borrow some of her Gryffindor courage. "She figured out how I felt for you."

"Oh." Hermione's eyes widened.

He smiled at her, reaching over and taking her hand. "You know, Hermione, you made the most adorable, little toddler." Her blush deepened, and he chuckled. "But I think you make the most beautiful witch."

"Draco," she whispered, leaning in slightly.

Leaning in as well, Draco closed the distance between them, their lips meeting. Within seconds, they were snogging, Draco silently thanking Pansy for helping to push the two of them together.


End file.
